The Beehive of the Future

This year at Dutch Deign Week, Philips unveiled an intriguing prototype that allows apartment dwellers to have a beehive in the home. The concept of the Urban Beehive was submitted as a part of their Microbial Home Design project, a "domestic ecosystem that challenges conventional design solutions to energy, cleaning, food preservation, lighting and human waste."

The beehive design consists of two parts: "an entry passage and flower pot outside, and glass vessel containing an array of honeycomb frames, inside. The glass shell filters light to let through the orange wavelength which bees use for sight. The frames are provided with a honeycomb texture for bees to build their wax cells on. Smoke can be released into the hive to calm the bees before it is opened, in keeping with established practice."

While the design is still a prototype at the moment, its exciting to think about the possibility of opening up beekeeping to city dwellers. Bees are such an integral part of our eco system and have been in danger for some time, hopefully with some creative thinking, their population will once again thrive.